Tony Khan's company made an offer for WWE

WWE was acquired by Endeavor in 2023. A multimillion-dollar operation that led to the creation of TKO, the company that currently encompasses WWE and UFC. However, there were more companies interested in this purchase, including Base 10, the company that owns All Elite Wrestling, according to a recent report published by Brandon Thurston from POST Wrestling.

Thurston had access to recently declassified court documents that reveal some very interesting data about the WWE sale process. It is worth noting that this process is being investigated in a shareholder lawsuit questioning the transparency of the operation. The lawsuit argues that the sale process was unfair and that Vince McMahon may have favored Endeavor beforehand due to guarantees about his continuity in the company, something the defendants deny.

The declassified documents also reveal the identities of other bidders such as Liberty Media and the private equity firm KKR. Although Tony Khan is not directly mentioned, Base 10 and All Elite Wrestling are cited, highlighting the potential synergy between AEW and WWE. However, it is clarified that AEW legally belongs to another entity of the Khan family, although both organizations are linked to their members.

Florida business records show that BASE10, Inc. was established in 2014, with Tony Khan listed as the sole executive. The company's address corresponds to the stadium of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team, owned by the Khan family. A Sports Business Journal article quoted Khan in 2015 when he talked about Base 10.

Regarding the offers made for the acquisition of WWE, the documents reveal that Base 10 offered 6.9 billion dollars, a figure lower than those presented by the other competitors. KKR offered between 8 and 8.7 billion, while Liberty Media considered figures ranging from 8.5 to 8.9 billion. Endeavor, on the other hand, offered 8.5 billion.

The declassified documents also revealed that the bidders' identities were protected through pseudonyms. Additionally, Base 10 informed WWE that they would need financing partners in both equity and debt to complete a possible transaction. On the other hand, NBCUniversal, Disney, Amazon, Netflix, and the Saudi Arabian government, all mentioned as potential buyers during the sale process, did not submit offers for WWE.

For now, it is unknown to what extent All Elite Wrestling's position within Base 10 may have affected its ability to advance in the bidding process, and how the landscape of professional wrestling would have changed with WWE and AEW operating under the same umbrella.